A rough day
by Evilsnotbag
Summary: Wendy is having a rough day at the Mystery Shack.


DISCLAIMER: all characters in Gravity Falls belong to the magnificent Alex Hirsch.

One shot. Slight AU where Wendy's mother has passed away.

WARNING: this story contains all sorts of period related things, read on if you like.

Wendy sat by the cash register reading a magazine, as per usual. It was early morning and the pre-lunch rush hadn't hit yet. One solitary customer was perusing the Mystery Shack's merchandize. After a minute's hesitation, the middle aged man settled on a Mystery Shack snow globe.

"That'll be $30" Wendy said.

"Whoa, that's steep. But my Wilma just loves these things. Anything for the one you love, ya know?"

"Yeah" Wendy answered, forcing herself to smile. The man left and she sagged on the chair. The last couple of days had been miserable which usually meant that aunt Flow was on her way. All Wendy wanted to do was to go to her room and just crawl into bed with a hot water bottle and sleep. These times she really missed her mother something fierce. It was hard to grow up as a girl surrounded by guys. Especially with her dad and brothers going all rage fist macho all the time. There wasn't really a place for her sensitive side at home. She couldn't imagine telling her dad she just wanted a hug, or that she needed anything vaguely female body related - not even underwear.

Wendy sighed and looked down at her calloused hands. Her mother's palms had been smooth and soft. She wondered, not for the first time, what her life would have been like had her mother lived. Her father would not be so angry all the time, she was certain. Or at least not in the house. Her mother had always had a very calming effect on him. She had been tall and strong, but gentle, and he always treated her as if she was made out of porcelain - even though she chided him for it. 'I´m not that delicate, darling!' she would say to him. Wendy smiled ruefully at the memory. Her mother had been more delicate and vulnerable than she had ever imagined. The disease had taken her suddenly and it was only years later that her father, in a drunken state, had told her just how sick her mother had been. Images of her mother's funeral and the ashen faces of her family swept across her mind.

A creak interrupted Wendy's thoughts. Soos was coming downstairs carrying a swaying stack of boxes. She blinked quickly to force the tears away.

"W-Wendy - are you downstairs? I think I'm gonna drop these, dude. Could ya help me? Dude?" Soos said in a muffled voice.

Wendy stood up and felt her midsection protest. Ignoring it for now, she went to help her friend and colleague.

"Gee, thanks dog" Soos puffed when all the boxes were safely on the floor.

"No problem Soos" Wendy said, stretching.

"Mr. Pines asked me to go into town for some things; do you need anything from the store?"

'Yes' Wendy thought 'A day off, a whole bunch of chocolate and my mother back from the dead, please' but said "No, I'm good" in a slightly strained voice.

"You OK dog?" Soos asked, concerned at Wendy's tone.

"Yeah, fine, fine, just warm" Wendy waved a hand and tried to smile naturally as she took off her shirt and hat and hung them behind a door marked "Private". Soos shrugged and left for the store.

Wendy sat down on the stairs for a while, resting her head in her hands. She really didn't feel like working today.

"Wendy? Where are you? I told you to never leave the cash register alone! Someone might steal MY money!" Grunkle Stan grumbled from downstairs.

"Here Mr. Pines" Wendy got up with a sigh and went back down.

" _Don't_ let it happen again, young lady" Stan said in an unnecessarily stern voice, giving Wendy the stink eye.

"Aye aye, Captain" Wendy said sarcastically, but inside she felt extremely hurt.

She went to sit down on her chair again.

The sound of squeaking breaks could be heard from outside.

"Ah! A whole busload of rubes!" Stan cheered up markedly at the sight. He went outside to greet them.

Over the next hour Wendy started to feel cramps. They grew in strength, but she couldn't do anything about them since there was no one to take over at the register. Soos hadn't come back yet and Mabel and Dipper were nowhere Wendy could see. Around lunch Wendy was in true agony and she knew that she had started bleeding. She adjusted her position on the chair and realized she had bled through. She froze in the middle of handing the change to a male customer. 'Crap crap crap crap' Wendy thought. She gave the man an apologetic smile as she returned his money; he gave her a strange look.

There seemed to be no end to the customers that day. Wendy felt like her lower abdomen was being squeezed in a vice. It was a hot day, so no one took notice of the sweat running down her face. She wished the day would end so she could go home, but she didn't want to leave with her backside covered in blood - just the thought of people seeing it made her want to cry. She knew she had pads, painkillers and a set of raggedy old paint-covered overalls in her locker. If she could just get there without anyone seeing her...

As the afternoon dragged on she began to feel queasy with heat, hunger and pain. She was sweating so much her black tank top was sticking to her back. She was getting bombarded with questions about sizes and whether the fluffy chupacabras came in different colors at the same time as she was handling the register. Her head was spinning with all the different things she had to concentrate on.

Dipper, Mabel, Grenda and Candy stepped in through the door, laughing about something seemingly hilarious that Dipper had just done or said. Her heart lightened at seeing her young friends, she leapt at the opportunity and hailed them.

"Hey guys! Mabel, could you come over here?" her voice was hoarse.

Mabel looked over at Wendy and the smile she had worn just a moment ago faltered as their eyes met. Mabel had never seen Wendy looking so... small. She was huddled on her chair, pale as a ghost. She decided instantly to heed her friend's request.

"I'll be right back", she said to Dipper, Grenda and Candy and made her way over to the register.

There was a lull in customers and for a little while, no one was waiting to be wrung up.

"Wendy, are you ok?" Mabel asked in a whisper.

"No, actually, I'm pretty far from ok. I've... um" Wendy just realized Mabel might not know what a period was, but it was her only chance to get away. "I've bled through; I need to get to the locker room without anyone seeing my butt... Or this chair" Wendy murmured. Mabel's eyes went wide with shock and then nodded as if understanding all the implications. She looked thoughtful for a moment and then smiled and gently touched Wendy's arm.

"I have an idea, gimme a minute"

"Hurry, please, more people are coming" Wendy sighed through clenched teeth.

Mabel hurried off to Candy and Grenda who were waiting for her by the stairs.

"Girl-talk-huddle!" she commanded and her friends jumped up like soldiers. "Go away Dipper!"

"Jeez" Dipper held up his hands, not understanding what the hell was going on. Then he saw Soos coming through the door. "Soos! You won't believe what we just saw!" he hurried off.

"What's going on Mabel?" Grenda said as quietly as she could.

"Wendy's in trouble and it's our duty as fellow women to help her. The crimson tide has come and breached the banks" Mabel said seriously and both Grenda and Candy gasped and then nodded Candy's cheeks a bit flushed. "Candy, go get a sweater from my room, Grenda, I need you to make a distraction over by the Wendigo pamphlets, and I'll get Wendy ready. Wait for my mark, and then we move her up the stairs, ready? Break!" The three girls scurried off.

Mabel went back to Wendy and whispered "Just a little longer, we've got a plan".

Wendy smiled as relief flooded her chest. She had to blink fast again to clear her eyes.

A minute later, Candy was back downstairs with one of Mabel's sweaters in hand. She nodded sternly at Mabel and Wendy and Mabel greeted her with the same motion. Mabel then looked over at Grenda and gave her a nod. Grenda nodded back and then exclaimed loudly as only she could "OH! MY! GOSH! WHAT IS THAT MARVELOUS THING OVER THERE?!"

"Go, go, go!" Mabel hissed as everyone turned around. Candy wrapped the sweatshirt around Wendy's waist and Mabel grabbed the stool as the red head got unsteadily to her feet. They moved as one unit across the floor and up the stairs to the locker room and shut the door quietly.

"Good work, Candy" Mabel said "Go find Dipper, tell him to watch the register, quickly!"

Candy nodded and slipped out soundlessly. Wendy was very impressed.

"Wow, you guys are really organized. Thanks, dude. I do - uh" Wendy's vision went black for a moment and she fell back against the lockers before she steadied herself.

"Whoa Wendy - !"

"Oh, I think I'm gonna hurl" Wendy stumbled into the bathroom and made it just in time. Mabel followed and gently gathered up Wendy's hair as she vomited into the toilet. The sweet gesture made Wendy remember her mother again and this time, she couldn't keep the tears away. They rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks as she sobbed into a towel Mabel handed her. All her dams were breaking now; there was nothing she could do. It was embarrassing to do it in front of someone else, but she couldn't stop herself. Her stomach burned with icy pain with every breath. Without a word, Mabel sat down on the floor next to her friend and placed one small arm across Wendy's shaking back, the other on her shoulder, as if to hold her steady. Eventually, Wendy's mind stopped flooding her with emotion and she leaned back against the cold bathtub. Her eyes were still streaming, but it felt like it was necessary. She sighed and looked over at Mabel who met her gaze with knit eyebrows and concerned smile.

"Does it hurt that much?" Mabel asked quietly.

Wendy cleared her throat before she answered "Sorry about that Mabel..." she smiled wetly and blew her nose. "I think that had been building up for a while... Cramps hurt yes, sometimes a whole heck of a lot, but I don't think I've ever fainted or whatever before. I think that was probably a combination of the heat and stuff" Wendy wiped her cheeks and sighed. "I've been thinking about my mom a lot. I really miss her..."

"Where is your mom?" Mabel asked.

"She died when I was nine" Wendy said in a voice that cracked slightly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss" Mabel said with a sad look on her face and took Wendy's clammy hand in her small warm one.

"Sometimes it just hits me that she's never coming back" Wendy's voice was barely a whisper. "She was always on my side, no matter the trouble I got into... One time" Wendy smiled through her tears. "This one time, I had gotten in a fight with a boy that was messing with a friend of mine and the dude had run home to his brothers and they had come after me on bikes. I was running so fast and I tripped and then suddenly she was there, in front of me. She just stood there and looked at those kids and they ran off. She dusted me off and said 'Keep fighting for the people you love, Winny. But you don't always have to fight alone'"

Mabel's eyes were tearing up now too. "She sounds like one heck of a lady, Winny" she said with a smile.

"Ha, yeah. I couldn't say 'Wendy' when I was little... I really wish I would have been able to talk about this woman biz with her before she passed away. Would have spared me a lot of misery, that. Speaking of, I should probably change - oh, Mabel, your sweater!" Wendy realized with a start.

"Don't worry about it, Wendy! A friend is worth a sweater or two"

"I'll buy you a new one, I swear!" Wendy looked at her friend sincerely.

"It's OK, Wendy, I have dozens!"

The two of them got off the floor, Wendy leaving behind a small blood stain.

"Oh, crap" she said and bent down to wipe it up. "Oh man, today is such a mess" she winced as she straightened up. "I think I'd better have a shower... Could you get some stuff from my locker for me, Mabel? I think I should stay put so I don't bleed over the entire Mystery Shack"

"Yeah, no problem, Wendy. What do you need?"

"There's a blue bag and a black box on the bottom of my locker"

Mabel returned to the bathroom carrying both items. Wendy had started unlacing her boots.

"Thanks Mabel, for everything today, really, thank you. Ice cream and sodas on me later, OK? Oh, maybe make it tomorrow. Tell your friends too"

"I will" Mabel said, feeling relieved that Wendy seemed to be feeling better.

Wendy looked at her young friend. Sometimes the three years between them felt like a huge gap, but at times like these, Mabel seemed much older. She felt a little proud of Mabel.

"Hey Wendy?" Mabel asked kind of shyly.

"Yeah, Mabel?"

"Would it be alright if... Could we talk about lady stuff... sometime?" Wendy was a bit surprised but rallied.

"Of course, dude. Anytime" Wendy gave her a reassuring smile.

Mabel smiled back and exited the locker room.

Back in the bathroom Wendy popped two Midol and slid down into the steaming water. The pain subsided almost immediately and she relaxed, resting her head on the rim of the bathtub. 'What a day' she thought.

Little over a half an hour later, Wendy felt like a new woman. The pain killers had kicked in and she had gathered up all the blood stained things and put them in her bag for washing. She wore her old and comfy overalls. They were really way too warm, but she'd change when she got home. She went downstairs, totally ignored the crowd of people in the store and exited the shack. Mabel, Candy and Grenda were sitting on the porch, drinking Mabel juice. All three of them got up when they saw Wendy.

"You guys" Wendy said and held out her arms.

All four of them hugged and Wendy thanked them all profusely. "Ice cream and sodas on me tomorrow, alright? You guys make an excellent team, I owe you a big one"

"Aww shucks" Grenda rasped as Mabel and Candy giggled.

"See you tomorrow, ladies" Wendy waved as she got on her bike.

She took a detour on her way home.

There were some slightly wilted wild flowers in a vase by her mother's gravestone. Wendy sat down and talked out loud, as if her mother were still alive and could hear her. Told her about this day and many others. Wendy felt and remembered countless moments they had spent together, both happy and sad.

As the sun set, she got up and saw her father standing down the path, holding a rough bouquet. How long had he been standing there? He walked up to her slowly and changed the flowers in the vase. Then he wrapped her in a very gentle hug and gave her a bristly kiss on the forehead.

"I'm so proud of you, my little Winny" he said in a husky voice. "And so is she"

THE END


End file.
